#rundas x samus

[flovey-dovey]

Dudes... I'm still thinking about Rundas. He was best friends with Samus and respected and appreciated her so much dudes. Rundas comes to Samus' rescue after the mini-battle with Ridley when nobody else did, showed concern after the fact along with some personality he might not've shown if it was someone else, and showed more comradery to her than anyone. His battle theme is so tragic too like you can hear the inner turmoil of two friends and trusted allies being pitted against each other, unlike how the themes are for Ghor and Gandrayda. Rundas making fun encouraging banter with Samus in the elevator up to the canon activation room, those being his last words Samus ever heard him say... He deserved so much better dudes... He was so cool... (pun coincidentally intended)... There just seems to be this level of connection that Rundas had with Samus that Samus didn't have with anybody else there. So much subtle development- personal and interpersonal- for a character who's cutscenes don't even tally up to more than ten minutes. Can only imagine the way Samus must've felt after that battle... One of her only true friends gone forever... Like dang dudes...

[nerdy-the-artist]

Maytroid 2024 is here!

I am so excited to get to work on these new prompts. Last year, my entries for each day were fairly sloppy, and I was new to the series, so I was lacking a fair bit of information. Now, I’m armed with more knowledge and am eager to use it.

For those who haven’t seen what I did for Maytroid last year, what I’m going to be doing instead of art is something more writing focused. These little text entries are mostly styled after the scans from the Metroid Prime series. Matter of fact, this new set of prompts actually lends itself much better than last year’s, as I have a lot more leeway to play to my own strengths than last year (I still don’t know what the fuck I’m gonna do with Gorea). These are all canon to my own Metroid AU currently, though as things change in development, these may become out of date. They will give the vibe my stories are going for, but these shouldn’t be held to as the absolute canon for them. I’ll be posting these week by week, around 7 at a time, starting today.

Day 1: Ridley

Transcript of Security Footage

Several individuals in this footage cannot be identified at this time. They shall be identified as Pirate 1, Pirate 2, and Pirate Major.

Ridley: What I want to know… is why he is not in custody.

Pirate Major: I gave them their orders, they knew he was to be brought in alive, and instead they killed him.

Pirate 1: You told us to take care of him! We thought you meant an execution, not milk and cookies!

Pirate Major: Insolent Wretch! You say such things about your orders in front of our Commander?! You know how we handle that sort of insubordination!

Pirate 2: Cool it, we’re already in hot water.

Pirate 1: We’re in hot water because of the life of some winy little nobody that begged for his life with money he didn’t even have.

Ridley: While your insolence is… aggravating… I am willing to forgive this misstep.

Pirate Major: What?

Ridley: He was an insignificant pawn. We can always find another. As I was saying, I am willing to forgive this on one condition. Did he die in pain?

Pirate 2: Yes. He did suffer before he died.

Ridley: What methods or torture did you employ?

Pirate 1: Waterboarding. Works wonders on humans. I always liked how they sound when they cough and gasp for air.

Ridley:Mmmmm… was blood shed before his end?

Pirate 2: Yeah. My partner here has… quite the way with knives.

Ridley: Do tell.

Pirate 1: Slashed his wrists. Those arteries gush lots of blood from humans. And we started pulling teeth when he lied.

Ridley: Delicious. You have escaped capital punishment, but you will still be serving as guards for the Metroid containment units. For further forgiveness, you will need to be more creative with your implements. I find Revine’s death, by your account, to be quite dull. Your are dismissed, unless you wish to enlighten me further.

Day 2: Fiery

Scan of Pipe System in Norfair

“These pipes appear be delivering superheated magma into the Norfair region. Given the proximity to Ridley’s personal quarters, likely explanations include terraforming the area for Ridley’s own comfortability, additional protective measures, or the intentional destruction of Chozo artifacts not deemed useful. The latter is most likely, as the immediate area was once a Chozo burial tomb. It is now completely submerged in magma, disintegrating much of the artifacts within.”

Day 3: Winged

Scan of SA-X Mutations

“This X-Parasite copy has suffered some form of destabilization of its copying abilities. Abnormalities include a malformed, beak like structure around the mouth, several atrophied fingers, several hypertrophied fingers, small patches of feathers, and an extraneous structure protruding from its back resembling a Chozo wing bereft of feathers. These unusual deformities could be the result of DNA infusions during childhood complicating the process of anatomical replication within X-Parasite offspring. This individual seems to suffer great stress from its predicament, but it is unsafe to assume that its combat functionality is greatly hampered. Adaptation is this species’s main trait.”

Day 4: Pirate

Scan of Space Pirate Elite

“Subject is a member of an unknown species known only from individuals working within Ridley’s special operations group, The Revenants. This group acts as Ridley’s personal enforcers and assassins, fanatically worshipping their commander as a literal God of Death. They wield melee weapons personalized to their unique fighting styles. Each weapon is charged with electricity, giving them an additional ranged attack capability. They have operated since before the Galactic Federation, making a name for themselves in fighting Chozo warriors. Their endurance, agility, and strength cannot be overstated, in spite of their gaunt appearance.”

Day 5: Mecha

Scan of automaton codenamed Mecha Ridley

“Subject is a battle ready drone, seemingly created by Ridley’s fanatical special forces, the Revenants. Mecha Ridley is heavily weaponized, as there could be no altar to the God of Death without the ability to take a life. Weapons include flamethrowers, guided munition launchers, and superheated claws. Mecha Ridley’s armor is highly durable, but greatly hampers mobility compared to its inspiration. Additionally, as a cult idol of worship, advanced artificial intelligence was not prioritized during production. Mecha Ridley displays average combat intellect for a war drone. Recommend staying moving and outsmarting the automaton.”

Day 6: Fang

Scan of Rundas’s Necklace

“Rundas appears to have begun collecting Metroid Fangs as trophies since last he was approached. Assuming one fang was taken from each Metroid he has eliminated, he has defeated 15 Metroids in the two months since he was last seen. Unfortunately, his ego has grown with his kill count.”

Day 7: Cunning

Scan of Abandoned Home

“Old Bird and Grey Voice’s abandoned home has been left mostly in tact, minus the usual signs of neglect. However, there appear to be a plethora of traps lain around the home. Various grapple snares have been detected, alongside explosive charges, beam emitters, and microphones. Much of these systems appear to be inert, and once reported directly to Mother Brain. It is clear she anticipated you might return here before confronting her. Given her destruction, several trap systems remain completely dormant. Still, any approach must be made with great caution.”

[sepublic]

Given how much we roll with Samus having a ton of self-loathing due to the deaths of so many loved ones by the time of Fusion... Let's do even more with that.

The SA-X is terrifying, and part of that comes from it being a soulless, unspeaking, automaton; Samus without any of the soul. But we also know the X can copy memories, and granted it's possible the X never got to access Samus' brain, and wouldn't have those as the SA-X.

But what if they still somehow did? We know there's more than one SA-X; About ten, Adam calculates. So maybe one of them is cold and unfeeling... But what if another is Samus' own self-loathing personified, externalized?

The X are clever; What if this SA-X voices all of Samus' doubts towards her. Tortures her psychologically to throw Samus off her game, because the X know that self-doubt can cause more intelligent creatures to underperform. What if we have an SA-X that asks aloud all the questions that Samus hates about herself; If she's such a hero, why are so many of her friends and family dead? Why does she destroy everything she touches?

This plays into Samus' self-destructive action in blowing up the BSL with herself aboard, because she's convinced herself she can't do anything right, so it doesn't matter if this doesn't actually eradicate the X on SR388. And then Adam, this computerized copy who is supposed to be cold logic, actually speaks through to Samus by acting more objective and reminding her; There are other ways to do this, and you don't need to die. And then he begins to rediscover himself.

And it's like a parallel because computer Adam is also a clone copying the memories and personality of an original, albeit a manmade, digital mimic. And Adam and the SA-X start off as cold and unfeeling, but then rediscover emotions; In the SA-X's case, they're cruel and ultimately meant more as a parroted echo of Samus' self-hatred, for an ulterior, practical motive of defeating the enemy at any cost. For Adam, it's him learning to live and love again, and save a friend from the fate he technically already went through, and can't truly come back from.

But yeah, imagine the SA-X constantly guilt-tripping Samus... Bringing up her parents, and then Gray Voice. Not to mention Rundas, Ghor, and Gandrayda. The Metroids, especially the Infant. Zebes. Adam Malkovich. Belittling, dismissing, undermining Samus' achievements, insisting those she did help and save, like the Luminoth or Old Bird, will follow suit eventually. She became Ridley when she eradicated the Ing, who just wanted to survive, and left only one baby Metroid alive.

It gaslights Samus, which adds to the paranoia of not knowing what to believe, what's real, with the X mimicking things and the Federation lying to Samus; Plus her projecting Adam onto what she believed was just a computer. She's really going through it, and for a while it's actually working in throwing Samus off of her game, and she already lost all her upgrades!

It's basically Samus fighting her inner demons; Not just this caricature of her as something that is only a weapon and destroyer, but her own feelings of inadequacy, the guilt, the loneliness, the tendency to push others away for fear of hurting them too. And the suicidal ideation. And eventually she conquers both of these takes on her that actually go hand in hand, and comes out stronger with her identity rediscovered and reclaimed, hence the removal of the helmet to reveal Samus within, and her Fusion suit resembling the classic Varia color scheme now.

[coldgoldlazarus]

Pride: Rundas, Raven Beak

Envy: Gandrayda, Mother Brain

Gluttony: Dark Samus, Ridley

Lust: Gorea, SA-X

Greed: Emperor Ing, Biologic Space Labs

Wrath: Ghor, Kraid, Sylux(?)

Sloth: Queen Metroid, Other M Adam

[overworldstims]

Samus Aran x Rundas (Metroid Prime 3: Corruption)

1 / 2 / 3  (original inaccessible)/ 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8  (original inaccessible)/ 9

[mysmashplaythroughs]

Super Metroid Samus Playthrough

Fighter: Samus Aran

Game: Super Metroid, Wii U virtual console (SNES). First Released on March 19th 1994.

Fighter Bio.

Born on Earth Colony K-2L, Samus Aran was an inquisitive and friendly but naïve child, often trying to make friends of visitors to the colony. One visitor she made friends with was an old Chozo who was known as ‘Old Bird’ who was visiting with a group of Chozo interested in the Afloraltite, a material which can be used to fuel starships. When the Chozo and Rodney Aran, the leader of the colony could not come to an agreement over the Afloraltite, the Chozo left. Not too long later however, some other visitors arrived on the planet seeking this fuel source, Ridley and his space pirates. Ridley’s forces began a raid on the colony and Samus, a naïve child greeted Ridley just as she had ‘Old Bird’ asking him to become her friend. Ridley after telling the child she’s cute then turned around to kill her, Samus being saved just in time by her Mother, Virginia Aran, who was killed protecting her. Following this, Samus’s Father in a last-ditch effort destroyed the Afloraltite the Space Pirates were trying to steal, killing many of their forces, himself, Ridley’s ship and heavily damaging Ridley in the process. Samus being the sole survivor of the Colony remained in its ruins until the Chozo group returned to the planet, finding the devastation and Samus.  Deciding to adopt the orphaned Samus, Old Bird took her with the group back to his home planet, Zebes. In order to survive on the harsh planet the Chozo infused Samus with Chozo DNA which, along with training she received growing up, gave Samus speed and agility beyond a normal human as well as allowing her to survive suitless on Zebes. Whilst on Zebes, Samus also during her time growing up knew of Mother Brain, the mechanical giant brain used by the Chozo to control operations on the planet.

Following her training with the Chozo Samus was gifted a power suit and with Old Bird’s blessing was named a warrior of the Chozo. She then left to join the Galactic Federation, excelling at the academy and becoming part of an elite force in the Federation Police Force. Fighting Space Pirates, Samus eventually ran into Ridley, although this meeting triggered her memories of that day back on K-2L which Ridley had apparently survived causing Samus to freeze and almost get killed. Following further trials Samus left the Galactic Federation disappearing for some time until she eventually resurfaced years later as a bounty hunter. Fighting many space pirates around the galaxy Samus became renowned although believed by the public at large to be a male cyborg. When Space Pirates captured some captive Metroids being held by the Galactic Federation and were eventually tracked to Zebes where they were seeking to breed them in order to conquer the entire galaxy, the Galactic Federation turned to Samus due to her history on the planet. Mother Brain, who had revolted against the Chozo and allied herself with the Space Pirates, organising them and becoming their leader was the one in charge of operations on Zebes with Samus’s mission being to destroy all the Metroid organisms on the planet and Mother Brain.

Samus took on this task, facing off against the various dangers of Zebes as well as the Space Pirate Captains, Kraid and Ridley, who she finally defeated. Samus then went to Tourian, Mother Brain’s lair on Zebes where she fought and destroyed the Metroids and finally Mother Brain herself. In defeat however, Mother Brain set off a self-destruct system which Samus had to race back to her ship in order to escape. Her escape was short lived however as her ship was shot down, this however is part of another story relating to her Zero Suit form. Following this, Samus took on many different missions, often finding herself facing other breeds of Metroids and Space Pirates. She also encountered Ridley numerous times, now in a cybernetic form known as Meta Ridley. Eventually, Samus was given a mission to travel to the Metroid’s home planet of SR-388 and hunt down all remaining Metroids on the planet. In doing so Samus fought many mutations Metroids could undergo on the planet, including the final source of all Metroids on the planet, the Queen. Having destroyed the Queen, Samus encountered the final Metroid, a baby who hatched from an egg just when Samus arrived. Samus prepared to open fire on it until she realised it had imprinted on her as it’s Mother and was not hostile. Not wanting to kill the creature, Samus instead took it with her back to her ship, on the way having another encounter with Ridley, one which the Baby helped her to escape. Taking the baby Metroid to Ceres Space Colony so it could be researched by the Galactic Federation and she hoped kept safe. When Samus left however, she almost immediately received a distress signal from the Colony, returning there to find it had been attacked by a newly recovered Ridley and his Space Pirates.

Samus is a powerful warrior who is known to be a brooding loner of few words. She has a great amount of willpower despite her melancholic outlook with her always fighting her hardest against whatever threat she faces, often being able to survive where entire troops of Galactic Federation soldiers haven’t. Despite her fierce willingness to take on anything, Samus also shows great compassion when warranted, such as saving a species from extinction known the Luminoth, helping the Etecoons and Dachora escape Zebes when it faced destruction and sparing the Baby Metroid despite her orders being to destroy every last one on SR-388. Beyond this Samus’s personality as with many Nintendo player characters has been kept fairly vague with few games delving into it. Samus’s main equipment is her Power Suit which is highly adaptable with her gaining many abilities from both Chozo technology on Zebes as well as Chozo technology from other planets which have enhanced the Power Suit’s power, defence, manoeuvrability and elemental protections as just a few examples. With Chozo Blood in her veins Samus is also able to achieve feats beyond ordinary humans with her enhanced agility and speed.

Friends: Samus often works alone and ends up on planets with very few if any friendly species. Due to this, most of Samus’s allies only appear in backstory or the occasional cutscene. Samus has fought alongside, been a part of and been hired by the Galactic Federation numerous times, however she has not always seen eye to eye with them. Samus had a few friends back when she was part of the Galactic Federation, one of them being Anthony Higgs, a soldier in the Galactic Federation who once worked with Samus. Samus had a respect for her old commanding officer Adam Malkovich, although they would often clash, one of these clashes leading to Samus’s decision to leave the Galactic Federation. Having been raised by them Samus has a love of the Chozo, especially ‘Old Bird’ who was the first Chozo she made friends with as a child. Samus has also been helped by and helped the few non-aggressive species she’s met on various planets, such as the Etecoons and Dachora who helped her with learning to use certain abilities and she helped to escape the planet Zebes when it was set to be destroyed. Samus has worked alongside other bounty hunters such as Ghor, Rundas and Gandrayda, however they were sadly corrupted by Phazon and Samus was left with no choice but to kill them. Finally there is the Baby Metroid which Samus bonded with after it hatched. The Baby helped save Samus a couple of times and Samus felt great sorrow after it’s death at the hands of Mother Brain.

Enemies/Rivals: Samus has fought many enemies over her career, with a lot of them being associated with the group who make up her main enemies, the Space Pirates. Samus could be said to have two main enemies, the first of which is Mother Brain, who Samus has not fought often but when she has, they have been key conflicts in Samus’s life. Being on Zebes throughout Samus’s childhood, turning on the Chozo and joining with the Space Pirates, as well as murdering the Baby has resulted in Mother Brain influencing Samus’s life a lot. Mother Brain when she is present tends to be the leader of the Space Pirates, however Ridley often is either the main leader or second in command. Ridley has a long history with Samus, being responsible for making her an orphan, which in turn means he’s responsible for his own worst enemy. Ridley is Samus’s most persistent foe, and even after his death his clones have kept up this antagonistic relationship with her. Arguably the next biggest foe Samus has ever faced is Dark Samus, a being of pure Phazon that took control of Samus’s Phazon Suit. Dark Samus replicated much of Samus’s abilities with additional powers afforded by its Phazon makeup, this made it a dangerous foe for Samus, it was not allied with the Space Pirates however and became as much their enemy as it was Samus’s. Many of Samus’s foes are more beasts than intelligent species, with her most fought, the Metroids, being dangerous creations being used by the Space Pirates rather than intelligent life with goals. Other dangerous beings Samus has fought besides the space pirates include the Ing, a race from Dark Aether, a planet that’s from a parallel dimension to the planet Aether, making the Ing seem to be dark reflections of the peaceful Luminoth Race native to Aether, whom they have been invading and had almost wiped out. There is also the X-Parasite, amoeba-like beings which can replicate the form of other beings, their only natural predator being Metroids which were bred by the Chozo to hunt them, the X-Parasites came close to killing Samus if it weren’t for a vaccine created by infusing Samus with Metroid DNA saving her life and allowing her to absorb X-Parasites at their base form.

Crossovers with other Smash characters: Samus has not crossed over with other characters very often and at most has had allusions to other series in her own games rather than actual characters crossing over. Samus has crossed over with Mario a couple of times, the most notable of which was when she appeared in Super Mario RPG in a small cameo role, sleeping in a bed in Mushroom Castle after Mario defeats Yaridovich but before he goes to Land’s End. Samus will simply say “….. I’m resting up for Mother Brain.” When spoken to. Samus’s ship appears in the background of Busted Bayou in Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, although Samus herself does not appear. Samus crosses over with Kirby in Kirby’s Dream Land 3 where she appears at the end of a level in her full Power Suit. If Kirby defeats the six Metroids in the level with the ice power however, Samus will appear without her helmet and give Kirby a Heart Star or if that’s already been awarded a 1up. A cancelled crossover Samus almost took part in was an appearance in Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga. It’s been found in the game’s coding that Samus was meant to appear with other Nintendo characters as a special guest giving Mario and Luigi an Energy Tank in exchange for their newly brewed drink. Samus also appeared alongside Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Bowser, Donkey Kong, Pit and Link in the NES version of Tetris playing an Upright Bass in her Power Suit, and made a similar cameo in F-1 Race with various Mario and Donkey Kong characters as well as Link. Finally, whilst I normally wish to avoid things outside of games, Metroid played a somewhat big part in the Captain N TV series, with Mother Brain being the main antagonist of the show and various characters being (very loosely) adapted from different franchises such as Simon Belmont, Mega Man and Pit. Samus herself didn’t appear in the TV series but in the comic stories where the writers didn’t have the rights to use Simon Belmont or Mega Man anymore, Samus was part of the remaining team along with Pit.

Why this game?

Well, simply put, Super Metroid is often considered the essential Metroid game, even more than the very first which this is somewhat a retread of. Super Metroid takes place on Zebes, the planet Samus grew up on which is now the Space Pirates main base of operations under the control of Mother Brain. Samus defeated Mother Brain’s operations in the very first game on this planet, but in Super Metroid it turns out Mother Brain survived and Ridley has stolen the final Metroid in the universe in order for the Space Pirates to once again attempt to breed them in order to conquer the galaxy. The reason I picked this game is simply because it defines Metroid as a whole. All of the most iconic Metroid creatures and villains come from this game, some only ever appearing in this game and the original such as Kraid yet still being thought of as the main Metroid cast. A lot of Samus’s moveset in Smash is based on this game also, especially since this was the last game Samus was in before the very first Super Smash Bros. Finally, the simplest reason I chose this game to play for Samus is it’s one I’ve been meaning to properly play through for years, and thanks to this ride I’ve been on, I’ve now done that and I am thankful for it.

My past with this game.

So my history with this series is probably similar to a fair few people who didn’t play that many games until the N64 era. I first really knew of Samus in the first Super Smash Bros. I also didn’t realise Samus was a woman until I noticed how she looks when electrocuted in Smash (the original Smash Bros had a unique set of animations where you’d see character’s skeletons briefly when they were electrocuted, except Samus who would be a sort of green figure of how she looks under her power suit.) When it comes to what I thought Metroid was though, it’s somewhat embarrassing really. Back around the time, Nintendo Magazines were my main source of information about games. I tended to read about a lot of games I had never played and didn’t really intend to, however with so many games that I’d only seen still images on a page of, I would very often fill in the blanks with my imagination. Samus has a striking costume with the orange and red colour scheme, and a game I saw advertised a lot at the time had a character with an orange costume, along with a visor and was from a sci-fi setting. This was actually a fairly obscure N64 game called Body Harvest, interestingly I’ve found out developed by the predecessor to Rockstar Games (the creators of GTA3 which some say this game was like a sci-fi based prototype of.) Coincidentally, I also for a while thought Body Harvest and Harvest Moon of all things were the same game, so in summary I think it’s obvious how unaware of games besides the ones I’d played I was back then.

Anyway, gradually over the years I’d hear more of Metroid and find out more about it, through magazines going over the series history when the Prime games were coming out, to later Smash Bros showing off more of the series such as Ridley appearing in the intro for Melee. Also before Brawl came out, I remember a youtube channel and one which has always been an inspiration to me, called CrappyCaptureDevice, which sadly has been inactive since Brawl came out did a lot of videos going into the history of the characters, stages and various other things in Smash, and I learnt a lot through these so I definitely wanted to credit them at least once. It was around the time of Brawl I believe when I first actually got a Metroid game, Metroid Zero Mission on GBA. I’d read about it and how it was a remake of the original so I felt it was the perfect place to start, even if I’d heard a lot about Super Metroid by this point. Metroid Zero Mission being my first Metroid and the first I ever completed has given it a lot of nostalgia for me, which is funny as it was a remake of an NES game for GBA. Having played Zero Mission and attempted the original NES game (which I was awful at) I of course had to check out Super Metroid. The thing was, at the time I couldn’t appreciate it. I immediately wanted it to play like the GBA game did, and had trouble getting used to the ‘changes’ in the controls etc. Also, as Zero Mission drew inspiration from Super Metroid when remaking the original game, I admittedly felt like I’d already seen most of what would be in the game, a ridiculous idea I realise now but back then I didn’t play it for long before another newer game I’d been looking forward to came out, as often tended to happen when I actually got old games I’d been meaning to play on Virtual Console etc.

Sometime later, I decided it was time to properly play the game. I’d seen a couple of Lets Plays on youtube of the game by this point, and I knew all the plot points that took place etc so I just wanted to play the game for myself now. I started to appreciate the game more, from it’s exciting opening, to the first area of the game which does something I love games doing, to Brinstar’s more flowery areas with the more subdued but really nice music. I was really enjoying the game… then I reached it, ‘Noob Bridge’. I had one of my ‘Zelda Pitfall’ moments, figured I’d take a break and come back to it later… and didn’t come back to it for another few years.

My Smash Playthrough.

So, in the meantime, before I got around to playing Super Metroid again, I’d read about ‘Noob Bridge’, and realised just how ridiculous I’d been to quit. It didn’t help in this respect that the other Metroid games I’d played didn’t have a run button, even the later ones like Fusion and Zero Mission didn’t. Super Metroid was one of many games that inspired me to take on this challenge, more so than others because it was a game from a series that had been in Smash for a long time, and which I’d only ever beaten one game of at this point, being Zero Mission. (Actually, there was Other M too but I barely remember that one beyond one or two moments.) So I played through the opening sequence on the space station, which I’d done a few times before so there wasn’t much stood out about it this time, then reached Zebes. One of my favourite types of ‘fanservice’ in games is getting to revisit old locations, especially when those locations are shown to be part of a larger world, it really helps making a sequel feel like it’s an expansion of the original. Super Metroid does this in a really cool way by having you return to the original area Brinstar on planet Zebes, which has been left to ruin along with going to Mother Brain’s base of operations in the original game, which is all still ruined following the events of the first Metroid. As you go through however, you’re being watched by what seem to be some sort of security systems, which makes it clear the place isn’t as dead as it looks.

Following this you travel to the rest of Zebes, expanding beyond the original game’s area into the Space Pirates true base. You travel to areas from the original game, but a lot of them are vastly different to the original versions, showing you that even if you’ve been to an area before such as Brinstar, it won’t necessarily be the same as it was last time. The original Brinstar, in Zero Mission was rocky with the occasional acid lakes. The Brinstar you visit in Super Metroid is an area overgrown with vegetation, with all sorts of flora and fauna growing there. It is also here in Brinstar where I returned at last to ‘Noob Bridge’. This time, I was ready, and ran across the crumbling bridge, making it further than I ever had before. Following this, I travelled through the many areas of the game, some familiar like Brinstar and Norfair. Some new to me such as the Wrecked Ship and Maridia. I got through a fair bit of the game without too much trouble, although there’d be times I’d end up in another ‘Zelda Pitfall’ looking all around the different areas to try and work out where I hadn’t been, only to work out it was something obvious I’d missed. I believe the area I had the most trouble with was Maridia, although I don’t have any issues I can remember specifically, it was more I’d find it a tough area to navigate and spent a good hour aimlessly wandering around till I figured out where to go.

One big aspect of the game which sets it apart from the rest of the Metroid series is the atmosphere. Of course, this isn’t to say the other games in the series don’t do atmosphere well, far from it, just I’d say this is the game that does it the best out of all of them. I personally really like the lively music tracks from some of the series, with Zero Mission having some great songs that were remakes of the music from the NES game, and made up a lot of the music Metroid had in the Smash Bros series. Super Metroid’s music tends to be a lot more muted, but it really works well building the atmosphere. The subdued themes tend to emphasise the desolate feeling in some areas, which is helped by the graphical look of the game. One of the key aspects to Super Metroid is how the story is more experienced than told to you. One of the biggest examples of this is the few friendly creatures you’ll meet on Zebes. They will show you how to do the wall jump and shine spark by doing it alongside you, teaching you how without dialogue or actually telling you the buttons. This culminates at the end of the game where you can find them trapped and choose to help them escape, which doesn’t change the ending majorly but is a small touch to the game which just feels nice in my opinion. It’s not a very complicated story but it’s still done well and engaging I found. Another aspect I really like about the game is how colourful it can be. Whilst there are a lot of desolate areas, there are also areas such as in the overgrown parts of Brinstar that have bright pink colours everywhere, and the enemies are varied with various colourations rather than just being generic grey bugs as some other sci-fi games where you fight aliens tend to go for.

The bosses were all fun to fight as well as challenging. Kraid was cool to see, especially as the version in Zero Mission was based on this version, so I’d been looking forward to playing the ‘original’ fight for myself. Phantoon was another fight I found cool, it took me a couple of tries but I beat it eventually. Draygon I think was probably the boss I had the most trouble with having to probably rematch it the most. Ridley was a fun fight and I don’t remember him being particularly difficult. His style of fighting in this game still makes it funny to me he would become a fighter in Smash down the line, but I’ll go more into that in another post. Finally, we come to the final boss Mother Brain. The fight with Mother Brain I found easier than the fight with her in Zero Mission, although there’s a reason for that as this version of Mother Brain starts off fighting you the same way as she did in the original game, but then has a second form after you defeat her. The second form I didn’t have any trouble with either from what I remember, and this leads to the most famous sequence from the game, where Samus is helped just when it looks like she’s about to be defeated and gets the final powerup of the game. This is what I like to think of in games as the ‘Reward Final Boss’ where you’re very unlikely to lose to them and it’s more a reward for reaching the end of the game that you’re able to thrash the final boss spectacularly, especially if it follows on from a Final Boss who was particularly difficult and you get to pay them back for all the time you’ve spent fighting them. I’ve seen these sort of final bosses criticised for being too easy but personally I think it’s a good way to do it, especially if it’s a reward for defeating their earlier more difficult form.

Following this comes the ending sequence, however before I go onto that, I think it’s best I go over the Baby Metroid. It’s the main driving force for the game, being the creature the Space Pirates have captured in the hopes to create more Metroids using it, and it’s a key part of the Metroid franchise at this point due to being so iconic. Sometimes it’s not been done well, but I feel that shouldn’t be allowed to tarnish how important and well the Baby works in this game. I don’t want to spoil anymore about it, granted when I played the game I already knew all about what happens etc, but it’s still a key aspect to the game I don’t see much point in me fully explaining here. One thing I will say though is that even though it’s a plot point brought directly over from Metroid 2, the Game Boy game which until it got a really amazing remake recently on 3DS tended to be forgotten, it’s perfectly easy to understand and follow the plot involving it when playing just this game alone. So, following Mother Brain’s defeat, as is a tradition at this point in the series, there’s an escape sequence. Unlike the first game where it was just the Space Pirate’s Base that was destroyed, this time the whole planet blows up, and Samus has to escape before the timer reaches zero. Being the planet she was raised on of course this is a big part of Samus’s overall life, so seeing the world blow up, even if there’s no dialogue regarding it is still a big moment for her in the series, with her ship narrowly escaping the explosion, and depending on whether you saved the creatures, you’ll see them also escape if you look carefully. You get a different ending image depending on how long you took to beat the game, with Samus either in her power suit, in her power suit without her helmet or in her casual outfit. Naturally this being my first time beating the game, I got the full power suit ending for taking over 10 hours. Still, regardless of that, beating this game was a big deal to me. Super Mario 64 was a game I’d played through many times, as was Donkey Kong Country. Ocarina of Time I’d beaten the remake of on the 3DS already before I beat the N64 version, but this for the first time in my Smash Bros Playthroughs was a game I’d always meant to beat but never had, until now, the first of many to come and I loved it.

Specific aspects about the game relating to Samus in Smash.

So, for my Smash Bros playthrough, Super Metroid does something that made it so much easier for me, and which is something I don’t believe any other Metroid game sadly gives you the option for, which is you can choose what equipment upgrades you’re actually using. What’s even cooler with this is it means you can mix different types of upgrades to be unique setups, such as if you don’t want to be able to use the charge beam, but want to use the wave and ice beams, you can select that and instead of charging the shot when you hold the button down you’ll rapid fire a beam that can go through walls and freeze enemies. Due to this feature, I was able to make Samus as accurate as possible to her Smash Bros appearance. In this case, I chose to have her equipped with the Varia Suit, Charge Beam, Morph Ball, Bomb, Screw Attack, Hi-Jump Boots and Space Jump (due to her double jump in Smash Bros). She also has her regular and Super Missiles equipped as well as the Grapple Beam. This is I believe the closest to Samus having all of her abilities from the Super Smash Bros series as you can get probably in the whole Metroid series, as you don’t tend to be able to get every upgrade with the Varia Suit before it gets upgraded in other games and you can’t switch back by that point. Samus’s entrance animation in Smash is taken from the save points throughout the series and seen in this game. When you continue on a save file the game will have Samus start off in the last save point you saved at, and similarly to Smash Bros she will appear facing the screen stood inside the save point before you make her walk out. Finally, Samus’s gunship in Smash Bros is based on the one she uses in this game, with it sometimes changing slightly based on other portrayals such as in Metroid Prime 2 and Other M, however it is still the same gunship in these cases and she does not use any of the other models of gunships she has owned throughout the series in Smash. 

Credits.

For information on this game including dates of releases I must give credit to Wikitroid.

The screenshots in this post are taken by me using Miiverse before it shut down.

[weizhentian]

Land of the Lustrous x Metroid role assignments

Spoilers

Mother Brain -> Kongou-sensei. Mysterous nun with immense powers.

Samus -> Phosphophyllite, she starts off with the short ponytail she has Other M. Mother Brain’s favorite, but she is too squishy to fight until she gets the Suit.

The Space Pirates/The Moon Raiders -> The Lunarians. Mysterious beings from the moon, clad in Buddhist attire. Constantly trying to kidnap Mother Brain’s students. Their bodies dissolve into smoke when sufficiently wounded.

Gandrayda -> Morganite. Purple and naughty, teases Samus about her inability to be particularly good at anything.

Ghor -> Goshenite. Fuzzy spider creature with bioluminescent spots. Has prosthetics from wounds sustained fighting the Moon Raiders.

Sylux -> Bort. Obsessed with fighting. The very best at it. The one to bail out the others at the nick of time.

Spire -> Diamond. Sylux’s older partner. They want to be good at fighting, but their body fractures much more easily than Sylux’s.

Kanden -> Yellow Diamond. Eldest pupil with electric powers. Despite their natural gifts, they’ve lost multiple partners in their long life.

Noxus -> Euclase. Elder pupil. Wise and kind. In charge of secretary and strategy duty. Sometimes patrols.

Metallic green creature -> Jade. Noxus’ partner. In charge of waking up Mother Brain when she falls asleep.

Blue phage creature -> Benitoite

Two-tailed tentacle creature -> Neptunite

Fuzzy centipede creature -> Zircon. Kanden’s current partner and the second youngest of Mother Brain’s pupils.

Metroid Prime -> Cinnabar. The poisons that spew from her body are the reason she lives apart from the other pupils. She patrols the Phazon Wastes, but the Moon Raiders do not approach. Starts imitating Samus after Samus promises to find her a better job.

Unnamed Alimbic -> Rutile. The team medic.

Green and pink nudibranch -> Watermelon Tourmaline. Has corrosive spit. Pilots a robot body because their main body is too soft.

Blue mineral ooze creature -> Hemimorphite

Petrol the Craftsman -> Obsidian. Part of the fabrication department. Despite her small size, specializes in weapons creation.

Trace -> Red Beryl. Part of the fabrication department. Ambitious being who in charge of clothing.

Braided snake creature -> Sphene. Part of the fabrication department. Builds stuff.

Palm tree creature -> Peridot. Part of the fabrication department. In charge of textiles and paper.

Unnamed Ki-hunter -> Alexandrite. Obsessed with documenting the Moon Raiders. When she sees one she turns red and angry.

Pink Luminoth -> Ventricosus, leader of the Luminoth who made a deal with the Moon Raiders to return to Zebes.

Black/Green Luminoth -> Aculeatus, brother of the leader.

Unnamed Reptilicus Twins -> Amethysts

Rundas -> Antarcticite. A cold-weather being who is in charge of gathering supplies in the wastes surrounding the monastery when it is cold outside. Samus is consumed by grief when he is taken away by the Moon Raiders and she is unable to save him.

Queen Metroid -> Shiro. A special Moon Raider. She turns into ghostly versions of the various Metroid stages when cut up. She recognizes Samus somehow...

Gorea -> Padparascha. Ancient being. Fell to Zebes in a meteorite. Was born with missing parts and spends most of their time in hibernation. The unnamed Alimbic was inspired to become a medic through treating Gorea’s condition. Still they have trouble finding the perfect material to complete them.

Adam -> Ghost Quartz. Pupil in charge of the library and objects retrieved from the Moon Raiders. Agrees to help Samus investigate the Moon Raiders. He sacrifices himself to save Samus when her suit malfunctions trying to communicate with them.

Adam AI -> Cairngorm. An android with Adam’s memories. Despite this he is ruder and cruder than his creator. Adam made him promise to protect Samus, a role he resents.

Anthony -> Lapis Lazuli. Adam’s partner who was taken away trying to investigate the Moon Raiders. He kept detailed notes of his findings.

Silver Wing -> The Professor. Ancient Chozo. Mother Brain’s creator. The Moon Raiders try to replicate her in order to motivate Mother Brain into using her special powers.

Ridley -> Aechmea. Leader of the Moon Raiders. A ghost, his one wish is to become nothingness - something only Mother Brain can help him do. Takes a special interest in Samus, and later, the robotic Adam.

Kraid -> Cicada. A large and friendly Moon Raider who adores Ridley.

False Kraid -> Appe. One of Ridley’s many assistants.

Phantoon -> Barbata. A Moon Raider researcher.

[josie-cd]

So I had some Metroid thoughts today, specifically why an interaction between the X and Phazon would be a very very bad thing and I want to write them down. However as I’m going to write up an entire essay here, I’m going to keep it under a read more. Apologies in advanced to people reading this on mobile, since read mores are weird on mobile. But here we go.

So the X parasites are incredibly dangerous and one of the greatest threats to life in the universe. This is known.

Phazon is a very dangerous substance especially when left unchecked, however in its normal state Phaaze only releases a Leviathan once every century, so it could be considered a manageable threat, if the proper resources are put into maintaining it. However, under the coordination of Dark Samus, as seen in Metroid Prime 3, I would argue that Phazon is as big a threat to life as the X parasites are.

Put together however, which is what this thought experiment was about, their combined threat is almost beyond imagining. First though comes the question; which would take control of the other? Now we are assuming that Phaaze is being coordinated by Dark Samus, becasue naturally Phazon doesn’t enthrall a creature further than a Leviathan calling upon an apex predator to defend a Phazon source. So let’s start with Phazon and see how it affects bioforms.

Any creature that comes in contact with Phazon runs the risk of dying to exposure, however if it manages to survive the exposure it is likely to mutate following this trend: an increase in muscle mass and other beneficial biological functions, usually means of self defense or predation, and a decrease in cognitive functions in sentient creatures and even more so in sapient creatures. This is seen in the affliction known as Phazon Madness. A creature afflicted by Phazon Madness is compelled to seek out large quantities of Phazon which would quickly lead to the afflicted’s death under normal circumstances. The only circumstance that a Phazon affected bioform would be enthralled by Phazon yet bypassing most of the negative effects of Phazon Madness would be if it was lured into a Leviathan by the Phazon Core, in which case it would then be fixated on defending the Core from any threats.

Now assuming we have a Corruption scenario, a bioform could be infected by a special strain of Phazon propagated by Dark Samus. Upon reaching the Phazon Madness stage they will largely retain their metal faculties and experience more minor physical mutations, however they will then be enthralled by Dark Samus, following her fanatically. This is Phazon Corruption and has been shown affecting the Space Pirates, High Command and Ridley included, Metroids, the Aurora Unit super computers, the Steambots of Elysia, the bounty hunters Rundas, Ghor, and Gandrayda, and even Samus in the game over screen of MP3. However I believe the X would be largely immune to Phazon Corruption.

The only known threat to the X are the Metroids, who were specifically designed to be immune to the X’s abilities. The X cannot infect a Metroid, as direct physical contact will cause them to be devoured by the Metroid. Metroids can siphon the life out of any creature, including creatures infected by the X or being mimicked by the X. Saying they are incredibly resilient is an understatement. Now a curious thing about the X is that they can retain the memories of any creature they consume, and can pass them on to any other X they come across. This however is not to say that the X are sapient. They are sentient without a doubt, meaning “able to perceive or feel things,” but sapient, I don’t believe they are. Sapience is to “act with judgement,” intelligence as we know it. The X can mimic sapience with the right host, and it could be argued that mimicking sapience could lead to actual sapience, but in this situation let’s assume that the two aren’t the same. 

Well since the X themselves aren’t sapient, they wouldn’t be susceptible to Phazon Corruption. And becasue of the X parasite’s biology they likely would also be largely unaffected by Phazon exposure. There’s no muscle mass or nervous system for Phazon to affect. If anything Phazon exposure might make them more aggressive or cause them to multiply quicker, but overall I can only imagine positive mutations from exposure to Phazon. However, the X can also adapt and change themselves based on their environment. Examples are the Core X which have a hardened carapace, and the X found in Sectors 5 and 6 on BSL, who have lowered their body temperatures to below zero and cast off their ability to mimic their prey in order to become an anti-metroid measure. So it stands to reason that X might mutate themselves to incorporate Phazon into their forms, possibly to act as a lure for any Phazon Madness afflicted creatures and as a potential lure for sapient bioforms, such as the Pirates or the Federation Forces, that are seeking out Phazon in an attempt to harness it for themselves. This is where Dark Samus’s coordinated efforts to spread Phazon could include the X Parasites.

This is entirely theoretical but let’s assume that Dark Samus discovered the X parasites, but the X aren’t susceptible to Corruption and any mutations experienced by the X are positive. They can still spread and grow and mimic their prey. This suits Dark Samus just fine. She can still use them in her bid to spread Phazon across the universe because the X cannot infect Phazon either. Phaaze, the sentient planet that is the source of Phazon, is considered a bioform. It is alive, and so is every strain and instance of Phazon. But it’s not exactly a organic entity. It’s more of a living mineral and the X cannot infect any nonorganic entities. An example of this is the BOX Security Robot on BSL. BOX was infected by the X solely becasue its neural network contained organic components (likely based off of the Aurora project, but that’s neither here nor there.) Once the X mimicked the organic components in BOX, they could then mimic the machinery that composed it. The mimicked machinery would be 100% organic, but function identically to the original. Now since Phazon is a non-organic bioform, it stand to reason that Phaaze and Phazon are immune to X infection (and even if it were susceptible to infection, it would take a planet sized instance of the X to assimilate Phaaze, which at that point the X have already secured their permanence in the universe.)

Now, how does this benefit Dark Samus? Well the X can altered by Phazon but not controlled. And by being altered by Phazon the X would then carry trace amounts of it with them. So the X can be used as vectors to spread Phazon on a planetary scale much are virulently than Leviathan Corruption alone. Any creature the Phazon mutated X infect would then continue to carry that Phazon within them, and any creature not succumbing to X predation would suffer from exposure to Phazon. Dark Samus coordinating the spread of Phazon, which has now gained a modicum of sapience through her, could likely control the growth and spread of the Phazon strain the X are carrying. And in the event the X overwhelm an environment more so than Dark Samus would like, she could send in the Phazon Metroids she has under her thrall, or even deal with the matter directly, as Dark Samus herself is a heavily mutated Metroid. So while she cannot directly control the X, she could manage the strain of Phazon that the Phazon X carry, and she can direct their spread by utilizing the Metroids under her control, and has the capacity to cull the X whenever she needs or wants to.

This does leave the planet SR-388 as an obstacle for Dark Samus utilizing the X, however. The X Parasite’s home world is also the home world of the Metroids. So SR-388′s apex predators would make quick work of any Phazon X introduced to SR-388, and Metroids can stave off Phazon Madness much longer than other bioforms can. It’s likely that the more advanced Metroid stages are even more resilient against Phazon. So in this situation, Dark Samus could play the long game, subjecting SR-388 to typical Phazon Corruption, and in the event that the Leviathan enthralls a Queen Metroid as its guardian then all the better for Dark Samus. 

Dark Samus utilizing the X to spread Phazon would tilt the odds way beyond her favor. This isn’t to say that it’s guaranteed win for Dark Samus. Give Samus access to both the Metroid Vaccine and a PED and she’s likely to pull through. It wouldn’t be easy, but if any one can find a way, it’s Samus Aran.

Anyway, this has been a long theoretical post about an 11 year old game. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[planet-bryyo]

What is your favorite (or top 5) metroid titles? Feel free to separate 2d and 3d

Here goes!

3D1. Metroid Prime 2: Echoes

This one’s my all-time favourite, but it’s hard to pinpoint why. I love the unique world of Aether and I love the way the light world-dark world trope is played. The build from beginning to end feels massive, you start out feeling so weak on Dark Aether but by the end you aren’t even shooting your enemies because you can just lure them into an irresistible death field with your annihilator beam. You can see the devastation to the Luminoth (who are cool dudes btw) as well as your GF allies and Pirate enemies, and so beating the Emperor Ing feels so satisfying- plus you build up a rivalry with Dark Samus and it pays off beating her for the final time. All in all, great game.

2. Metroid Prime

Whenever I land on Tallon IV, my heart fills with pure love. Metroid Prime is an awesome game, its environments and music are beautiful, the gameplay is fun, the scan visor is just the best, and overall the game is really beautifully put together.

3. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption

IMO the weakest of the trilogy but still an exceptionally good quality game. The environments are my absolute favourite thing about it, they feel so unique and alive. The music isn’t quite as good as the other two on the whole but still really nice, with some excellent tracks like Skytown and Rundas’ theme. It changes up the formula of the beginning of the game which was good, though I kinda wish there’d be a little bit less talking after the intro and a bit more free exploration, but at least it’s one of the more beginner-friendly titles in that regard.

4. Metroid Prime Hunters

I like this game, even though it’s murder to play because your hands cramp up and you can’t play for more than an hour or so at a time. I think the main reason I like it is nostalgia, because it was my first ever Metroid game and it introduced me to the franchise. The concept is a pretty awesome one, even if it doesn’t turn out well in gameplay- six enemy hunters with their own motives vying for the Ultimate Power, the total wreckage of the entire galaxy, the power of Gorea. Sadly the whole thing isn’t very Metroid-y or challenging (aside from Sylux who’s a bitch with his lock-on constant fire gun.) At least it made a really fun multiplayer, though.

5. Metroid: Other M

Afraid I’m not a fan of it. It had some good ideas, but a lot of the gameplay and story didn’t really work out for me.

2D1. Metroid: Zero Mission

I decided not to include AM2R this time, though it is my favourite and it’s still official in my heart even in the advent of Samus Returns. Zero Mission is just a really damn fun game. I’ve played it more than any of the other 2D games, and you always find a new sneaky way of getting around somewhere or getting powerups early. I could play Zero Mission over and over again.

2. Metroid Fusion

Funnily enough, Metroid Fusion used to be one of my least played titles, but then I went through a spurt of playing it a lot and so now I’ve completed it several times. The atmosphere generated by the SA-X really tops this one off, even if it is a touch more linear and directed than I generally like in a Metroid game. The B.S.L. is an interesting environment to explore, and it feels so terribly confined with the X parasites and SA-X trying to thwart you at every turn.

3. Super Metroid

It feels wrong to have Super so low down on the list, but I haven’t played it for a while so the memory’s not fresh in my mind. But I know it’s a really damn good game. I’ll have more to say once I’ve played it through again.

4. Metroid II: Return of Samus

Crossed fingers for Samus Returns being great because this is actually a fun game, with a really nice world and super cool alien designs. It’s just so same-y that it’s really hard to navigate, especially without a map. I don’t mind a bit of challenge but it gets to a point of being tedious. That said, the introduction of the different Metroid forms was awesome, and the Queen is one of my favourite monsters in the entire series.

5. Metroid (the original)

I... Haven’t played much of this one, but I didn’t have anything else to put on the list haha. It’s a bit too dated and clunky by this point. Much respect for what it did, though.

[justmonicca]

More headcanons about Samus - one time Gandrayda was like "you're gonna learn how to make cereal that's easy enough right" but we all know how that ended, so it turns out Samus can only make ramen. She sits there with her power suit gun and the bowl of ramen to warm it up as to not vaporize both it and the stove (it takes like 10 minutes). Gandrayda walks in and says "Samus wtf are you doing" and Samus just says so nonchalantly "I'm making ramen." There are no questions. Only ramen. - she sent Adam memes about the GFed and he would respond with either "K" or leave her on read - she jokingly asked Rundas to make ice cream with his cryokenesis. He would always say yes and they would have ice cream after missions - on that one generator mission in prime 3 Samus suddenly went "Gandrayda" really seriously and Gandrayda turns around from kicking a space pirate's ass and goes "yea" and Samus is blushing REALLY hard behind her helmet and says "Gandrayda will u go out with me" and she's just like "Yes!! but first we need to get the generator online Sammy" and Samus has a Gay Moment - Gandrayda had like 15 million different pet names for Samus because DO NOT try to tell me that Gandrayda calling Samus "Sammy" didn't mean they were in love - Samus is terrified of bees bc there were some earth bugs on K-2L. One time she found a bee and ran back to Rodney and Virginia screaming. On Zebes the chozo just ate bugs because they're birds but now whenever Samus sees a bee she just sideyes it and vaporizes it with her power suit gun - after prime 3 Samus' Big Mood was taking a shot of some alien alcohol and going "I don't need friends" - in fusion, any time she heard the SA-X she would set her helmet to play that one song that goes "oh shit, oh shit" or "move bitch get out the way" and she just s p r i n t s away - she was/is VERY gay for Gandrayda and has an entire playlist of Hayley Kiyoko songs dedicated to her

[beholdthepowerofyuri]

Characters I’d Like To See In Smash Bros - Part 2

 A new Smash Bros has been announced, and there’s already implications that it isn’t just a port of the WiiU/3DS games, but rather an entirely new entry. I’ve already given my thoughts on that matter, as that’s not what this is about.

This isn’t the first time I’ve done something like this. There’s a random post I made where I talked about having a mental image of Frisk being playable (I know everyone is clamoring for Sans, but personally I think Frisk would be more fun and a better overall rep for Undertale), and here’s part 1 of this list, which I did more recently.

So yeah. Same as last time, I won’t be talking about any super-obvious fan favorites like Lyn, Shantae, Shovel Knight or King K. Rool. Again, I’d love for them to appear in the game, but everyone talks about them, so I won’t be.

Zero - Megaman Zero series

Okay so, first I want to emphasize that this is the Megaman Zero, version of him; not the one from the X series. I’ve got nothing against the X version, but, overall, I feel like the Zero version would be a better overall fit for Smash Bros, especially since all of the games were on the GBA and NDS.

Now then; before anyone throttles me out the nearest window because it’s another sword fighter, hear me out. I’ll spare you my usual sarcastic response to the criticism and go straight to how I picture them playing. Basically, he’d be about what one would expect; fast, hard-hitting sword combos for A attacks, but a bit of a glass cannon. He’d dish out a lot of damage, but his small and slender frame would make him a little easy to knock around.

As for Special Attacks, he’d utilize the various weapons he gains throughout the series. A major gimmick I picture him having is that all of his attacks (even his A Attacks) can be charged by holding down either the A or B button after the initial command input, similar to how they could be charged in the actual games. After a few seconds, some sort of visual cue will signify he’s done charging, and releasing the button will have him unleashed a powered-up attack. With the A button, it’ll be a single, powerful sword slash.

Neutral B - Buster Shot: Zero brandishes his pistol and fires a small shot. The attack doesn’t do a lot of damage, but can stun the opponent for a second or two. When changed, the blast is much larger, is faster and hits a lot harder, but lack the stunning effect of the uncharged shot.

Up + B - Recoil Rod: He uses the the tonfa-like Recoil Rod to leap high in the air. If used on he ground, it creates a shock wave that damages anyone directly next to him, while using it in the air has him do a downward strike that will result in a meteor smash if it hits anyone. When charged, Zero goes up much higher, and the shock wave when it’s used on the ground is larger and hits harder.

Side + B - Triple Rod: A simple and straight-forward attack where Zero brandishes the spear-like Triple Rod and thrusts it outwards; by repeatedly pressing the button, the rod extends further outwards twice, resulting in a three hit combo. When charged, Zero instead spins the rod around, striking anyone immediately next to him. 

Down + B - Shield Boomerang: Zero pulls out a round shield and holds it in front of him, which can be used to easily block all projectile-based attacks, though it does nothing against melee attacks. As long as the button is held down, it will stay out, though Zero will be unable to move while it’s out, even if it’s used in the air. When charged, he will throw it like a boomerang, damaging whoever it hits.

Final Smash - Rekkoha: Okay so...technically, this version of Zero never learns this attack in the actual games. But let’s be real...Smash Bros has taken much bigger liberties when it comes to character’s movesets. *glances at Ness*...anyway...yeah.

As far as Final Smashes go, this one’s fairly straightforward. Upon activating it, Zero slams his fist into the ground, upon which multiple lasers shoot down from the sky, traveling across the arena and inflicting a butt-load of damage to anyone who gets hit by them before sending them flying. Has a wide range, but a well-timed dodge would allow someone to avoid it. 

In addition to the above, his grab would utilize the Chain Rod in a similar fashion to Link’s Hookshot or Samus’ Grapple Beam, and would also be able to grab ledges as well. --- Rundas - Metroid Prime 3

Let’s face it; we’ll never see Ridley as a playable character. But it’s not as though there aren’t other characters in the Metroid series who could work as a fighter in Smash Bros. Hell, the Metroid Prime games alone introduced several other bounty hunters aside from Samus herself. My favorite out of the bunch is Rundus, an alien hunter with icy powers.

Overall, he’d be a lot similar to Samus; a fairly balanced character with quick but effective A attacks, fairly good mobility, and long-ranged specials. No long-ranged grab tho. I’m not saying he would be a clone of Samus, just that I picture him playing similarly overall. For his Specials, here’s what I’m picturing

Neutral B - An icy blast that would have a relatively good chance chance of briefly encasing opponents in ice, leaving them open for a follow-up attack. The damage would be pretty “meh”, but it’d still be an effect attack for its combo potential. 

Up + B - He quickly flies through the air Iceman style, damaging anyone he hits in the process and potentially sending them flying if they’d racked up enough damage. Would also leave a small trail of ice behind him that would freeze anyone who touches it, though it’d only remain for a couple seconds before disappearing. Covers a fairly good distance as well, making it a reliable recovery.

Side + B - Forms multiple round ice projectiles, which hover near him for a second before being immediately launched in whatever direction he’s facing. Would be good as a quick defensive move; not quite as effective as Megaman’s Leaf Shield, but enough to make melee-oriented characters think twice about running up to him without a plan. The projectiles themselves would do a decent amount of damage, but have a surprising amount of knock-back. If more than one hits a single opponent, they’d be knocked back quite far.

Down + B - Rundus activates an inherent ability of his species’, creating a layer of ice on his body to act as armor. Basically, think Shulk’s Shield Mode and that’s more or less what you get with this. Increased defense and reduced knockback from enemy attacks, but his speed and jumping ability takes a hit. Additionally, while it would still be an effective recovery method, the range of his Up + B would still be reduced a bit. The ice armor will break away after so many hits, and the ability itself will require a cooldown before it can be used again, that way players can’t just spam it.

Final Smash - Rundus sends a large wave of ice spikes that travels across the screen directly in front of him. Anyone hit by said spiky ice wave will then be treated to a short cutscene where he forms a giant ice pillar and immediately brings it crashing down on top of them.

Also say would you will about Other M, but Anthony Higgs would make a great assist trophy. He’d make sure all of his opponents remember him with a giant plasma cannon and it would be great. --- Tharja - Fire Emblem

I know there’s already like...six Fire Emblem characters, but there aren’t any who are pure mages, and I think it’d make for an interesting way to mix things up. Besides, at least then no one will be bitching about more sword fighters. Also yandere stalker waifu is best waifu.

So yeah. Tharja would be your typical “squishy wizard” type. A lot of powerful mid-to-long range spells, but unable to take hits very well. Her A attacks would be rather simple, but nothing special, with the exception of her Smash Attacks. They would pack quite a punch, taking the form of point-blank elemental spells.

Forward Smash - Arcthunder (a large orb of electricity flashes in front of her)

Up Smash - Elfire (a pillar of flames shoots up from the ground; makes a great anti-air attack)

Down Smash - Arcwind (a powerful burst of wind suddenly erupts around her, hitting anyone next to her on both sides)

As for her Specials and Final Smash, all of them will involve her casting Dark Magic. Like with Robin, all of her specials and Smash attacks will have a limited number of uses, meaning one must be careful with how they go about using them. Once they’re used up, they’ll replenish on their own, but you’ll have to wait a bit.

Neutral B - Flux; a simple but effective mid-range projectile where she hurls a small blast of dark energy. If it hits an opponent, it will take on whatever visual effects it has in Awakening (it’s been a while since I’ve played, so I don’t quite remember what the spell looked like). Otherwise, it just poofs upon hitting the floor or a wall.

Up + B - Ruin; functionally similar to Robin’s Elwind, this attack will have Tharja leap high into the air and cast a spell downwards that will propel her up even higher. However, rather than wind-based projectiles, she will instead release clouds of dark energy that float around for a several seconds. They don’t directly inflict any damage upon hitting someone like most attacks; rather, anyone caught inside said clouds will slowly-but-steadily take damage until they get away from it. Great for playing keep-away and slowly whittling away at the opponent.

Side + B - Mire; another projectile-based attack, Tharja launches a small green blob-like mass. It doesn’t hit as hard as Flux, but it’s quicker and has ridiculous range, able to hit enemies on the other side of even the largest of stages.

Down + B - Nosferatu; had to borrow at least one attack from Robin, and given that she’s actually capable of casting it in the real game this seemed like a good one. May or may not be slightly more potent than Robin’s version, and will help to offset her being a squishy wizard.

Final Smash - Goetia; A simple and straight-forward Final Smash. Tharja summons a giant mass of lightning and darkness that quickly expands outwards. Inflicts major damage to anyone caught inside then sends them flying. --- Incineroar - Pokemon Sun/Moon

Okay so...real talk. Incineroar is my favorite Gen VII starter, and given that he has the whole “wrestler” thing going, he’d be absolutely perfect for a game like Smash Bros. I picture him being a slow-but-powerful type like DK or Bowswer; can dish out a lot of damage and take a fair bit as well, but isn’t exactly going to win any awards for speed.

His A attacks would involve a lot of flashy attacks, with his Smash Attacks being especially grandiose. They’d be a little showy and easy to read, but extremely effective if they hit. He’d be a bit better on the ground than he would be in their air, but not to the extent of Little Mac. As for his special attacks...

Neutral B - Fire Fang; a simple, fast-moving attack where he lunges forward and tries to grab an opponent. If he succeeds, flames erupt from his mouth as he bites the hell out of them, before tossing them aside. Basically, it’s kinda like Wario’s, only you won’t be able to keep chomping on them once you get a hold of them. Note that only the bite itself will inflict damage.

Up + B - Darkest Lariat; it’d more or less be a copy/paste of D.K.’s Spinning Kong. More effective when executed on the ground, and covers a surprisingly good distance when used in the air, making it an reliable recovery move. To reflect its in-game effect of ignoring changes to the opponent’s Defense, could make it so that the ground version does heavy damage to opponents’ shield.

Side + B - Outrage; engulfing himself in bright green and blue flames, Incineroar charges forward for a powerful ramming attack. It would inflict a large amount of damage and have a huge knockback effect. However, if used repeatedly, Incineroar will become dizzy and unable to move for a few seconds, so spamming it will be very risky.

Down + B - Roar; Incineroar will let loose with a powerful roar, which creates a small blast of wind directly in front of him. The range is fairly short and it doesn’t inflict any damage. However, if someone does get hit by it, they’ll be launched rather far. Is less effective when used on airborne opponents.

Final Smash -  Malicious Moonsault; as if it would be anything else. Basically, a large wrestling ring pops up from the ground in front of Incinerar. Anyone who gets hit by or otherwise falls onto said ring will then be treated to a glorious death-from-above attack, just like the actual Z-Move from the game.

---

And there we have it. More characters I’d love to see in Smash Bros. As with the first list, I’m not holding my breath on any of this actually happening. Just something I thought would be quite nice. Gonna stop for now, but later on, I might throw up a less detailed lists of “honorable mentions”; i.e.; characters I’d like to see in the game, but I’m not quite sure how their movesets would work.

As always, feel free to lemme know what you think, so long as you keep it civil.

[flovey-dovey]

Never not ever gonna play Metroid Prime 3 again because the second I see Rundas I'm just gonna

[flovey-dovey]

Hey, relax! We're the good guys. Justice will prevail and all that stuff… right, Samus?

- Rundas, Metroid Prime 3

Ghor and Gandrayda are right there but Rundas sees no reason not to make it any more obvious that he and Samus are the very most excellent pals that he likes talking to; like Samus' mere belief in their victory will lead them closer to it in his eyes

[flovey-dovey]

Between the two of us, this should be a breeze.

- Rundas, Metroid Prime 3

The funny thing about this line is Ghor and Gandrayda are with them helping out but Rundas is just like "nah Sam you and me totally got this covered let's go bestie" and I love him for that. Like of everybody else they're working with Rundas respects Samus the most. Probably vice-versa too.

[flovey-dovey]

✅ Complimentary color scheme ✅ Height difference ✅ Monster/Alien/Nonhuman x Human relationship ✅ Preexisting opportunity for acquaintances-to-friends-to-lovers Conclusion: they are Very Good

[flovey-dovey]

Leftover headcanons that were more heavily Rundas and Samus that I didn't want to muddle my more mainly Rundas/Phrygisian biology post (more under the cut ;D)

During battle

Samus providing cover: During a heated battle, Samus uses her agility and advanced weaponry to draw enemy attention away from Rundas, allowing him to position himself strategically and unleash his powerful trademark ice-based attacks.

Rundas shielding Samus: Rundas creates protective ice barriers or shields, allowing her to focus on precise shots and evasive maneuvers without worrying about immediate threats.

Combining abilities: Samus and Rundas synchronize their abilities for devastating joint attacks. For example, Rundas encasing enemies in ice with his cryokinetic powers and thus creates an opening for Samus to deliver a precise and explosive strike.

Icy Amplification: Rundas generating an intense blizzard or freezing vortex, creating a localized icy maelstrom. Samus, utilizing her Morph Ball mode, could roll into the cyclone, transforming into a high-speed ice projectile. Rundas then directs the cyclone towards enemies, allowing Samus to crash into them with amplified force, shattering their defenses.

Thermal Resonance: Rundas freezes the environment around a group of enemies, encasing them in ice. Samus, utilizing her Plasma Beam, fires a series of superheated shots at the ice, causing rapid thermal expansion and explosive shattering. The combination of Rundas' ice and Samus' heat-based attacks creates devastating chain reactions.

Cryo-Snare: Rundas forms ice tendrils or icy spikes that immobilize enemies, trapping them in place. Samus, with her enhanced mobility, swiftly moves around the immobilized enemies, launching a barrage of missiles or charged shots at vulnerable points. Rundas maintains the icy restraints, preventing enemies from retaliating while Samus focuses on dealing damage.

Icicle Barrage: Rundas conjures a barrage of ice projectiles in the air, launching them towards a group of enemies. Samus, utilizing her Speed Booster ability, charges through the falling icicles, propelling herself with incredible speed. As she races through, she activates her Screw Attack, electrifying her suit and causing the icicles to shatter upon contact, creating a chain reaction of explosive bursts.

Ice Hooks: Rundas making grapple beam points for Samus to swing from, or letting her "piggy back" on him as he skates on his ice through the air.

          Samus Appreciating Rundas

Expressing gratitude: Samus opening up and directly acknowledging Rundas' contributions and expresses her gratitude for his support during battles or critical moments, even if it's just a simple "good job" he knows she means it more than usual because she said it out loud (but he doesn't expect her to talk every time; he does enough talking for the both of them sometimes).

Trusting his judgment: Samus deferring to Rundas' expertise in certain icy environments or relying on his insights to navigate treacherous terrains, trusting in his abilities and knowledge.

Saving him in perilous situations: If Rundas finds himself in a dangerous situation, Samus would of course intervene and rescue his hide, willing beyond a doubt to protect and support him in return for how he’s helped her. It’s a two-way street of respect and admiration for them and I love that so very much.

Personal gestures: Samus offering small tokens of appreciation, like sharing valuable resources, helping take a trophy of battle back to his home base, or offering to upgrade Rundas' equipment, invested in his well-being and growth as a fellow warrior.

Hanging out: Yeah, just hanging out. I think they’d do that a lot of it during long elevator rides through loading screens. Rundas makes jokes and Samus laughs with her eyes and Rundas enjoying the levity, himself.

          Rundas Appreciating Samus

Acts of Service: Rundas supporting Samus by assisting her in her missions, helping with her equipment maintenance, or providing backup during challenging situations.

Thoughtful Gestures: Rundas might surprise Samus with small but meaningful gestures like organizing a special outing to spend quality time together. It seems like a rare but sweet thing that doesn’t feel too out of character for him. After everything’s said and very done if he ever made it out alive, I think he’d be down for some down time, and Samus would hardly be against it either. Let them rest, holy moly...

Verbal Affirmation: Rundas expressing his admiration and gratitude through some very sincere and carefully-chosen heartfelt words to express his admiration for her strength, bravery, and the impact she has had on his life, ensuring that she knows how deeply he values her as an ally and friend... and maybe more~?

Emotional Support: Rundas can be a better comforting and understanding presence for Samus than he thinks, being there to listen as someone who’s gone through very similar things and offering support during challenging times. In his own way he can be a pillar of emotional support, not all ice and cold steel, showing his appreciation for her rarely allowed moments of vulnerability and knows he can trust her with his own.

Collaborative Partnership: Rundas actively involving Samus in his own pursuits and endeavors from time to time, seeking her input and valuing her expertise (and company, which is somewhat about as rare for him to feel for someone as Samus speaking).

I mean at the very least if they ever get assigned to do a thing together they're not gonna complain.

I also think Rundas enjoys trying to encourage some sportsmanlike competition but it's 50-50 whether she'll actually take him up on the challenge. Maybe 60-40 if she's in a good mood.

Rundas is one of the less than a handful of people who's ever shared more than a few words of dialogue with Samus.

BONUS: Rundas still isn't completely used to seeing Samus without her suit on (like Zero Suit mode). He can get used to it pretty quick but it still catches him off guard every time and he has no idea why.

Anyways, that is all. For now (rubs hands together)